The Morning Ledger: It Doesn’t Matter Who You Like, Or Does It?

An man reads a newspaper carrying reports of the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump, on a street in Allahabad, India, Nov. 10, 2016.

AFP/Getty Images

Good morning. People and countries around the world are trying to processthe fact Donald Trump will be our next president. That is technically OK, of course. But businesses need certainty. Hillary Clinton pointed to the fundamental differences in her concession speech, ones at the heart of our existential angst on both sides of the aisle. For better or worse, that means nothing. And Mr. Trump’s take on climate change and the reconstitution of the Supreme Court are still months away.

The Dow jumped yesterday, after plunging in after-hours trading Tuesday night, which indicates nobody knows what to do except to buy stocks. World-wide corporate executives either weighed in, or didn’t, depending on their point of view. Jeff Immelt, General Electric Co. chief executive, said in a note to employees that this election was part of a broader shift based on volatility and populism. For what it’s worth, we have much more to discuss on the election through the CFO lens just below.

CFO JOURNAL EXCLUSIVE

Here’s what you need to know.CFO Journal took a look at the smartest things CFOs need to know in a Donald Trump-led country. We could see a new Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner, among countless other potential nominations across all branches of government; if Mr. Trump wants to repeal Dodd-Frank regulations, it may not be simple; treasurers could benefit from higher bond rates; we might see lax enforcement under the next finance chief; like New Jersey’s recent gas tax, there could be a huge infrastructure benefit if Mr. Trump seeks a repatriation holiday with teeth; he might help driverless cars and ease emission standards; railroads might get more lax treatment; tech might be hurt if he holds tight to his anti-immigration stance, but there is the potential for a lower-tax regime, which could also put private companies on equal footing. That isn’t all, of course, but he won’t take charge for another two months.

CORPORATE NEWS

Charles “Charlie” Ergen, chairman and co-founder of Dish Network Corp., speaks during a panel discussion in Beverly Hills, California, U.S.

Bloomberg News

Don’t get sick of presidential stories just yet. CFO Journal’s Vipal Monga weighs in with an optimistic view from corporate titan Charlie Ergen, chairman and chief executive of Dish Network Corp. Mr. Trump’s surprise win in the presidential election has created a lot of uncertainty for corporations, but that negative is counterbalanced by expected improvements his administration will make to infrastructure and reforming the tax code.

One can hope. Executives world-wide encountered a political and economic landscape radically changed by Mr. Trump’s election, which reverberated through several sectors. Businesses braced for revamped trade pacts and a potential crackdown on overseas operations, coupled with the promise of lower taxes, lighter regulation and higher infrastructure spending. Executives in Asia and Europe said they were hopeful their close ties with the U.S. economy would endure the political upheaval and heated campaign rhetoric.

Or one can worry. Donald Trump’s election victory is seen as a blow to Silicon Valley, putting the presidency in the hands of a vocal critic of several big technology companies and an advocate of policies tech executives have said could hurt the industry’s development. Mr. Trump’s advocacy of tighter limits on immigration and trade alarmed an industry that prizes high-skilled immigrants and gets most of its revenue from overseas.

VW seems to do so.Volkswagen AG expressed concern that Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president could impact talks to reach a settlement with U.S. authorities over the German automaker’s cheating on emissions tests for diesel cars, Bloomberg reports. “I hope the election result won’t have more negative consequences for Volkswagen,” Chief Executive Officer Matthias Müller said.

Siemens warns of populist threat to business. The chief executive of Siemens AG warned that rising populism is a threat facing business and the global economy as the German industrial giant reported a 20% increase in fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. “The rapid rise of political and social populism and accelerating global migration are causes of concern,” Joe Kaeser said.

For Goldman, it was a special day, too. An unusual decision by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. contributed to huge trading volumes when stock markets opened Wednesday. The firm “front-loaded” an unusually large proportion of client orders, two people familiar with the situation said. Normally Goldman would execute less than 10% of its client order flow in opening auctions, but in the wake of Donald Trump’s surprise election victory it adjusted its algorithm to do around 25% at the open.

The Yahoo Mail logo is displayed on a smartphone’s screen in front of a code.

Reuters

Here we go again with the hacking. YahooInc. is evaluating whether an unidentified hacker has access to its user account data, following a 2014 hack that resulted in the theft of more than 500 million user account records. In a regulatory filing Wednesday, Yahoo said law-enforcement authorities on Monday “began sharing certain data that they indicated was provided by a hacker who claimed the information was Yahoo user account data.”

Twitter CFO ascends.Twitter Inc. on Wednesday said Adam Bain, its operating chief, is departing suddenly to pursue other opportunities, in the wake of an aborted sale of the company and its struggle to regain momentum. CFO Anthony Noto will take over the role, Twitter said.

GM plans layoffs. General Motors Co. will cut production shifts and lay off 2,000 workers at car assembly plants in Ohio and Michigan during the first quarter amid falling demand for passenger cars, the latest in a series of auto makers taking steps to deal with softer retail sales and avoid deeper incentive spending.

REGULATION

The U.S. Securities and Exchange building in Washington, DC, U.S., Oct. 5, 2016.

The Wall Street Journal

Wait, there’s more. The top U.S. markets regulator is about to take a rightward turn, thanks to the election. Mr. Trump, who has promised either to eliminate or sharply cut back the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law, may install critics of the Obama administration’s signature response to the financial crisis. The central bank has been insulated from congressional critics for the past eight years, but in Mr. Trump, the Federal Reserve will face a president who has expressed varying views about its policies.

ACA you later.Congressional Republicans and the president-elect are in agreement: The Affordable Care Act as it now stands is over. On the day after the election, the focus turned quickly to the long-sought GOP goal of gutting the law and installing a replacement. Discussions are under way about what aspects to keep, what programs to kill, and how to create some sort of transitional plan.

Surprise, another Trump story. Mr. Trump’s successful insurgent bid for the White House promised to upend a global power structure that benefited large corporations. Now, several Wall Street financiers and other successful business leaders could be in line to run top posts in his presidential administration.

And then there’s this.New retirement rules set to take effect next year are now in jeopardy after Mr. Trump’s upset presidential election win, leaving Wall Street unsure on how to proceed with implementation.

ECONOMY

Wait, there’s actually more.Donald Trump’s upset victory may be the biggest shock to the world economic system since the financial crisis. It represents, along with Britain’s vote in June to leave the European Union, a profound rejection of the postwar global economic order that could leave a cloud of uncertainty over the U.S. and world economies for months, if not longer, Greg Ip writes.

M&A? Let’s wait a bit. While Donald Trump’s surprise victory over Hillary Clinton could temporarily trip up the surging mergers-and-acquisitions market, the businessman’s election may ultimately spark an acceleration in deal-making, bankers and lawyers said Wednesday. Companies are likely to hold off on striking big combinations as they size up the new president and his policies, according to a number of deal advisers.

Spending, schmending. The GOP’s sweeping victory in the election diminished the likelihood of Congress striking a major spending deal in its final weeks in session this year, as Republican lawmakers anticipate their increasing leverage in 2017 when a Republican replaces a Democrat in the White House.

No downgrade, yet. S&P Global Ratings, discussing the election of Donald Trump, affirmed its double-A-plus credit rating for the U.S. and said its outlook remains stable. “We assume the long-standing institutional strengths and robust checks and balances of the U.S. will support policy execution in a Trump administration, despite the president-elect’s lack of experience in public office,” the rating firm said Wednesday.

Janet, stay. An economic adviser to Donald Trump on Wednesday said the president-elect isn’t seeking Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s resignation, despite a swirl of speculation in recent weeks that he might pressure the central-bank leader to step down. “He’s not urging her to resign at all,” Judy Shelton, an economist and senior fellow at the Atlas Network who advises Mr. Trump on monetary policy, told The Wall Street Journal.

Sorry, we’re not done yet.Donald Trump’s victory will embolden Republicans to complete one of the party’s core missions: slashing tax rates on individuals and businesses. Despite the rifts between Mr. Trump and establishment Republicans on trade and immigration, they largely agree on tax policy. And they are prepared to use full control of the House, Senate and White House to enact sweeping tax cuts early in 2017.

Dumb money bets on elections. No matter who you wanted to win, it’s never smart to invest ahead of an election, Jason Zweig writes. Instead, it is a time to watch and wait. The worst possible moment to make clear and durable decisions is when you are surprised by what just happened. Regardless of whom you supported for president, the results likely shocked you.

India’s disappearing ink. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on prime-time TV Tuesday that bank notes making up almost 90% of the value of currency circulating in Asia’s third-largest economy would become worthless paper within hours, he stunned a cash-loving nation. He also drove bankers back to the office.

Britain can’t win for losing. British bookies sustained large losses in the wake of record bets on a Donald Trump election victory, in another high-profile miss for this industry. The U.S. election attracted more bets than any other political gamble ever in the U.K., with what bookies estimate at around $250 million worth of wagers.

CFO MOVES

Kohl’s Corp., the Menomonee Falls, Wis., retailer, said Chief Financial Officer Wesley McDonald will retire after 14 years with the company, at some point before July. Kohl’s will conduct a search for his replacement. Mr. McDonald intends to stay with Kohl’s for an additional year to help with the transition of his duties and other projects. His equity awards will continue to vest while he remains, but during his consulting tenure he won’t receive additional stock grants.

Ames National Corp., the Ames, Iowa, bank, said CFO John Nelson will take on the additional role of operating chief. Mr. Nelson has been CFO and secretary since 1999. The company plans for him to assume the chief-executive role upon CEO Thomas Pohlman’s anticipated retirement at the end of 2018, and he will assume duties that dovetail with that transition. New compensation details weren’t immediately disclosed.

Venture Life Group PLC, a U.K. health-care firm, said Thursday that CFO James Hunter has decided to leave the company to pursue a new opportunity outside of the group. Mr. Hunter will remain in his role until the end of November, at which time he will also step down from the board, the company said. Venture Life has commenced a recruitment process to appoint a new finance head.

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